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Hive won three awards at the Sundance Film Festival and it is Kosovo’s official entry for Academy Awards consideration. Thus there is a ton of critical fanfare behind this feature, and Find Your Film host Bruce Purkey and I highly recommend Hive. Listen to our podcast below!
Based on a true story, Hive centers on Fahrije (a convincing and locked in Yllka Gashi), a woman who supports her father-in-law and two children. With her husband missing since the war in Kosovo, Fahrije makes money from selling honey (from the hives in her backyard) and ultimately she decides to start a business selling avjar.
The narrow minded men in the village are sexist, and women are essentially treated like second class citizens. Fahrije perseveres and with the help of other women in town, selling avjar might be more than just a pipe dream.
Writer/director Blerta Basholli brings a neorealistic aesthetic to the proceedings, and much of this 82-minute narrative is deliberately nuanced and subtle. This approach was applauded by Bruce Purkey and I, but Eric wanted a bit more demonstrative force to the storytelling.
Hive is one of my favorite films of 2021 thanks to Basholli’s pinpoint storytelling and Gashi’s commanding performance. The feature is currently playing in New York’s Film Forum and in Los Angeles’ Laemmle Theatres. For detailed information on where Hive is playing, go here.
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